Work anxiety/stress and mornings

[jadedreams]

Hey guys, still working on my anxiety. Had a couple of questions to run by you. I notice that when things get stressful at work (I'm a computer analyst) my anxiety goes up a lot. I know this is probably to be expected, but just looking for tips to handle it better. I get in this mode where I know I'm catastrophizing but can't seem to stop it. This might be my thoughts - "this program/server/whatever is broken, I'm too anxious to think straight, I can't fix it, I can't do my job, I'm going to get fired, my anxiety will keep me from working, I'm worthless." That may not be an exact train of thought, but pretty close, I need to stop this spiral. I don't feel as productive anyway right now with the anxiety (though I've had no complaints and did just get a raise) but this isn't helping when I get stressed.

My other thing is I still have higher anxiety in the mornings, it seems to happen so soon after waking (usually early before the alarm) that the anxiety kicks in. My chest will feel funny, my heart will race, my stomach might clench and I began to dread the day. By evenings my anxiety will be lower and I am looking forward to sleep. I fall asleep ok usually which is a blessing, but usually wake up a few times. I just really wish I could get my morning anxiety down, I think it would help a lot. It happens both on work days and weekends so whatever day it is doesn't matter. The anxiety in the morning makes it hard to look forward to anything which is really difficult and I'm sure a lot of you deal with this as well.

Thanks for your help and support as always.

[Istherehope?]

Hi, the high level of anxiety in the mornings fading in the evening is a common pattern for anxiety sufferers. I'm the same, but have recently improved on medication. I don't have any answers about how to prevent it though. Main thing I would do is make sure I had everything ready the night before, clothes, bag packed, etc., to minimise stress in the mornings before going to work.

People say exercise or meditating helps - I've not been disciplined enough to do either regularly yet - keep meaning to though!

[vicky23]

It seems to me like you're doing everything right in terms of recognising your negative thinking patterns and you have countered with positive more realistic thoughts like you say no complaints from management. The only thing I can suggest is using positive self talk throughout your day, start when you wake up and carry on throughout the day even before you get to the stage of negative self talk. The negative thoughts will still come but hopefully you'll be in an all round better mind set to cope with them.
Best wishes

[Chocolateface]

Hi

I obsess with work issues too that can stop me functioning properly and mine is worse in the mornings too.

You say you have had a raise and no complaints so you can do your role. I find with work we get stressed because we are confined to our desk / work space and have no where to escape to.

Can you when you next get stressed go and make the drinks to give you a few minutes to compose yourself? Also make sure you take your allotted breaks away from your desk and get fresh air if you can.

Deep breaths and keep telling yourself you can do it.

Clare

[HeadInAJar]

As far as morning anxiety, I find getting up a bit earlier, making a hot drink and reading awhile (about 30 mins) really helps. I think once we fully wake up and our body gets metabolising properly, anxiety fades a bit. Thats what Ive found anyway.

As far as work anxiety, I think all you can do is accept the thoughts as anxious thoughts and try to carry on working with them still in the background. Trying to get rid or repress anxiety just makes it worse a lot of the time. Its tough though, very tough.

[beatroon]

Hey there,

Sorry to hear you're in the anxiety zone at the moment, but just to echo what the other posters have said, that you sound like you are dealing with this very rationally!

I believe that mindfulness is a very good thing to try and I have found that running helps me feel calmer generally. Some studies have shown that 30 minutes of exercise 3x a week (fast walking, running, swimming etc) can have the same effect as an anti-depressant after six weeks. (I know anxiety and depression are distinct entities but worth a shot!) So, it might be worth trying to integrate into your routine. At the very least, you'll feel pretty good about yourself. This is assuming you're not already extremely buff!!

I know lots of people on here will recommend mindfulness, and you seem like you already have some good CBT techniques in your armoury, but either of those might be worth exploring, for the general and the morning anxiety.

I personally find that a lot of my anxiety stress comes from trying to hide my anxiety - particularly at work. Could you have a quiet word with your co-workers or boss? May not be the right route for me, but I have always found people to be very understanding, and that way if you need to vent at work or nip outside for five minutes, you can do so without feeling like you're hiding anything.

Please do feel free to PM me if you would like to chat about this, I am in a similar situation!

---------- Post added at 10:03 ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 ----------

On the topic of morning anxiety, I think realising that it is part of the pattern of the illness can help you recognise that, whilst unpleasant, it is just the anxiety talking and therefore there isn't really anything to 'worry' about.

In terms of practical tips, I would suggest getting some audio books to help you zone out whilst snoozing, or having something very distracting that you would like to do during the times when anxiety is at its highest - a game on your phone, or similar. It's no picnic but you can deal with it, and it won't be like this forever!

[jadedreams]

Thanks everyone, yeah I'm trying to be rational and I can recognize the patterns now with anxiety, it's just hard to put methods of dealing with it into practice. I did tell one person as work, my job is fine if I take a break - I usually don't which is probably part of the problem. I will work on that, a short break to stretch my legs.

I did have a more positive morning this round, my weekend was better and filled with busy times with family & friends. I think that helps as it makes me focus on positive things and provides good distractions. I also was working on positive talk to myself this morning like " I am going to get better" or "I've got this", etc. I think exercise would help me in the mornings, but haven't gotten into the habit of that, I've never been a morning person. Can't do jogging because of a bad knee, but might try walking, yoga or something gentler.